Christmas Flame
by klcarr892
Summary: And through it all, one thing will always be true: The special times are the times I share with you.  -Celine Dion


Summary: If there is love in your heart and your mind you will feel like Christmas all the time. -Faith Hill

Disclaimer: I don't think I've been good enough this year to get that particular present under the tree so nope, I don't own TM or any of its characters.

A/N: I wrote this as a Secret Santa present for Hecatia10 on deviantart. There's also an illistration/drawing to go with it on that under my deviantart profile. I would post a link but ff prevents me from posting any kind of link. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this.

Christmas Flame

Lisbon's flight left at 9:30, giving her 45 minutes to get through security and find her gate. She was flying to Chicago to be with her brothers for Christmas. It was a last-minute decision so they had no idea she was coming. Sure, they had invited her, like they had every year, but Lisbon was typically busy or at least she pretended to be.

Last year, Lisbon had a legitimate excuse not to make the trip. Her team was on the hunt for a Santa killer, the same case in which Jane had decided to test his alcohol tolerance level. They had solved the case but to quote her inebriated consultant, he was "a little home" and had asked if she would "take him drunk." After his untimely chat with Larouche, Lisbon had taken Jane home, to the room he rented from a hotel in not-so-nice part of town, where he slept off the whisky.

It was actually his fault she was standing here, in the airport, on Christmas Eve. Only a few hours ago, Lisbon was content in her office after sending the team home early. She had been looking forward to a quiet evening alone with only her hot cocoa and a copy of _It's A Wonderful Life_ to keep her company. Those plans had changed when Jane barged into her office, a small wrapped parcel in hand.

**Flashback**

She glanced up at the intruder and smiled. Yes, she was in a good mood. Blame it on the season but she was.

"Cho just left." Jane informed her.

"What about you?" She asked. "You heading out soon?"

"Saint Teresa, concerned about everyone but herself as usual. To answer your question, yes, but first, here." He said handing her the wrapped package along with what looked like a card.

"Merry Christmas." Jane smiled as she took the gift.

Instinctively, Lisbon went to open the card first but Jane stopped her.

"Ah, open the package first."

Lisbon rolled her eyes but obliged, pulling back the corners of the wrapping paper to reveal a small, square white box. Carefully, Lisbon removed the lid from the box and couldn't help but grin at what she found inside. It was a simple leather bracelet, with a half-heart charm attached to it. It was so cheesy and yet so Jane at the same time.

"Look!" Jane exclaimed excitedly as he held up his arm, proudly displaying his own matching bracelet.

"Now, all we have to do is attach a GPS tracking device to yours and we'll be able to call it practical." Lisbon half-joked as she fingered the friendship bracelet and fixed it to her own wrist.

Then, she picked up the envelope and began working on the seal. Lisbon peeled back the flap, sliding out the card. The front contained an image of a fluffy baby penguin adorned in a red scarf. The inside simply said "Merry Christmas" but Jane had added a note underneath the computerized font.

_Lisbon,_

_I know your brothers invited you to Chicago this Christmas and I also know you plan on staying home alone instead. Please, go visit your brothers. Christmas should be shared with family. Don't take this time for granted._

_Jane_

Inside the card was a single plane ticket for Chicago, leaving in a little over 5 hours. The ticket must have cost a fortune with it being Christmas Eve. Lisbon furrowed her brow in confusion at the gesture and looked up to find that Jane had all but vanished. She stood and looked for him in all his usual haunts: the bullpen, attic, and even the balcony but Jane was nowhere to be seen. Lisbon read the card again and sighed. Well, if she was going to Chicago tonight, she needed to get home to pack some warmer clothing. Ten minutes later, Lisbon exited the building, noting that Jane's car was no longer in the parking lot.

**End Flashback**

The airport was unsurprisingly crowded as Lisbon waited in the security line. The festive music playing on the PA system changed to "I'll Be Home for Christmas". Ironic, Lisbon thought. Sure, she grew up in Chicago but it no longer seemed like home. Lisbon pondered the saying "home is where the heart is". She wasn't even sure where that was at the moment. Yes, Lisbon loved her brothers, no question but was that the same thing?

_Christmas should be spent with family._ Rigsby was going skiing with a cousin in Denver. Van Pelt was meeting her parents in New York for a holiday in the city. Cho had Christmas dinner planned at his mom's. Jane… Lisbon thoughts halted there. At first, she figured Jane would spend the holiday cooped up in the CBI attic but then she remembered he wasn't there when she had left. He might return, Lisbon argued but hoped he would stay away. Either way, she knew the holidays must be a difficult time for him.

"Excuse me." Lisbon looked up to see she was now at the front of the line. Quickly, she removed her shoes and threw them, along with her cell phone into the plastic bin.

The security guard motioned for her to move through the metal detector. As soon as she stepped forward, however, alarms starting blazing. Lisbon stood confused for a moment and then she remembered her bracelet. The officer looked slightly annoyed but was satisfied after checking Lisbon with his wand. Still slightly dazed, Lisbon retrieved her shoes and cell phone from the bin and walked a few paces out of the way. She stopped without looking for her gate. Instead, Lisbon eyed the charm dangling from her wrist. Her half had the word "friend" inscribed on it. _Naturally, he would choose "best", _she thought to herself. Sighing, she finally glanced around. It took Lisbon about a minute to spot what she was looking for. Strolling away from the departure gates and towards the baggage claim office, Lisbon suddenly regretted checking her luggage.

* * *

><p>Jane's television was currently set to the weather channel and the volume was muted. It was the only station that wasn't playing sappy Christmas movies at the moment. Even the always faithful Animal Planet had let him down. It wasn't that Jane really had anything against Christmas movies or anything. He just wasn't in the mood for "The Puppy Who Saved Christmas" so the weather channel it was. The volume was muted because periodically, they would abandon their weather forecasting to update America's children as to the supposed location of Santa Clause. He could be wrong, but Jane thought he recalled reading somewhere that they had shut NORAD down all together. Talk about taking a lie too far. The ultimate con….Santa Clause.<p>

Speaking of which, the weathermen were no better. He should have done that instead, thought Jane. Predicting the weather was so much easier and had far fewer consequences than being a fake psychic. For instance, Jane was 99 percent sure Sacramento wouldn't have a white Christmas this year. With the average temperature this week in the 60's, he could basically assure it but even in the case of some freak cold front sending a blizzard to Southern California, the viewers would simply celebrate the change. No harm done.

The tv currently projected a Christmas forecast of the whole United States. Looking at the map, Jane wondered where Lisbon was in her flight to Chicago. Her plane was scheduled to take off about an hour ago, so baring no delays; Jane figured she should be just about over the Rocky Mountains right about now. He sighed, combed his fingers through his hair and then moved to get up off the bed. Time for a refill. He walked over to the electric kettle sitting next to the microwave and refilled his teacup. A knock at the door stopped Jane halfway through Jane's teabag dunking process.

He walked over to the door, switching of the television as he passed it. Peeking through the peephole, Jane was surprised at the identity of his visitor. He swung the door open quickly.

"Lisbon?" Jane asked.

Lisbon was standing in front of his door in a green sweater looking a bit unsure of herself. "May I?" She asked, gesturing towards the door.

"Oh, sure sure. Come in Lisbon." He stepped a pace to the right to let the petite woman inside, still surprised at her appearance. He noticed with increasing curiosity that she was carrying two bags and no luggage.

Lisbon waltzed in like she owned the place, placing her items down on the bed and then sat down herself once she remembered there was really nowhere else to go in the small space. Jane followed hesitantly.

"Umm, Lisbon why aren't you on your way to Chicago?"

Lisbon bit down on her bottom lip and then answered. "Flight was cancelled, there's a Blizzard there so no one's coming in or out of the place. Supposed to get over two feet." She lied, not wanting to hurt his feelings about the plane ticket.

_Lisbon is the worst liar in history, _Jane thought but kept it to himself. "And that's exactly why I don't understand who in their right mind would want to live in that city. Too cold."

"Anyway," Lisbon continued. "I figured since we both now had nothing to do on Christmas Eve, we could at least have no lives together."

"So, I'm what? The conciliation prize?" He knew that was far from the truth so why did he say it? Was he trying to push her away?

Lisbon's eyes widened at the question. How could he possibly think that? "What? No." She looked around the room nervously, realizing that this probably was a bad idea. "Look, maybe I should go. It's late and I shouldn't have bothered you."

_Way to go genius, _Jane thought to himself. _Now look what you've done._ "No, Lisbon I'm sorry." Jane tried to start over. "Besides, you haven't shown me what's in the bags yet." Jane forced a smile, hoping it would convince her to stay.

Lisbon looked at the plastic bag sitting on the bed next to her. Hesitantly, she pulled on the handle and began to dig inside. "Well, I brought a few action movies," Lisbon said pulling out three DVD's. "A box of hot cocoa. It's kind of a personal tradition, and some peppermint tea. Would you like some?"

"Tea sounds nice but I think I like your idea even better. Hot cocoa sounds perfect."

Lisbon nodded, pushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear and then dug back into the plastic bag for the final item. "I even brought marshmallows." She said proudly.

"Perfect." Jane smiled and then walked over to his single cabinet to retrieve another teacup, the only dishware he carried. He emptied his now cold tea that was still sitting on the counter and then refilled both cups with hot water.

Lisbon handed him two hot cocoa packets and a spoon.

Jane chuckled. "You think of everything don't you?"

Lisbon shrugged. She then opened the bag of marshmallows and added exactly ten to each cup of cocoa. They returned to the bed with their warm beverages and sat in the silence for a moment.

Jane's curiosity took over before too long. "So, what's in the other bag?" He asked.

"Your Christmas present." Lisbon said, avoiding Jane's gaze. "You, ah, kind of took off on me earlier today. I never got the chance to give it to you."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Jane said sincerely.

Lisbon nodded and handed him the gift bag which he accepted like an eager child. It was adorned with snowmen. Jane dug through the tissue paper and pulled out the gift. He stared down at two red candles, one about half the size of the other. Both were surrounded with some kind of poinsettia wreath. Jane cocked his head, confused.

"I was, uh, shopping for the two ladies who work at the front desk at the office. I figured candles always make good gifts. Anyway, I was in the store and spotted these. There's a card in the bag explaining them. It's what made me think of you." Lisbon pointed to the gift bag that was still in Jane's hands. He went digging inside again and found the card. He began to read.

_The Christmas Candle_

_The Christmas Candle has symbolized many things over the course of history. In Irish culture the Christmas Candle first symbolized the near coming of the Christ Child. A candle was placed in the window to welcome the Child both into the world and into the hearts of the people. _

_In America, the tradition of the Christmas Candle goes back to Colonial Williamsburg where the Candles were a representation of the hearth or fire of the household. The hearth was considered the "soul": of the home and when a member or members of a family are not present within the home, a candle is lit and placed in the window. The light is a beacon of honor and signals the loyalty of the remaining family members towards those not present._

Jane read the last paragraph over again and then glanced down at the objects in his hand, one large and one small. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat and then looked up at Lisbon.

Her eyes were already trained on his, searching for any kind of reaction. She wasn't sure how he would take it but she desperately hoped he understood what she was trying to say with the gift. Her heart sank when he abruptly stood and walked over to the opposite wall, avoiding her, she assumed. She was surprised then, when soft instrumental Christmas music flooded the room. She hadn't seen Jane turn on the small stereo on top of his dresser. She was even more surprised when he walked back over to her, gently placed the candles on the bed and then outstretched his arm in an offering for her to take.

She stood and silently melted into his embrace as they slowly swayed to the music in front of the bed. He still hadn't said a single word since reading the card. When the first song ended, Jane stepped away from her and back towards the bed. He dug through the gift bag one more time. Finding what he needed, Jane again gently retrieved the candles. Lisbon watched at a distance as Jane carried them over to the single window in his small hotel room. He placed them on the windowsill and then with the small book of matches lit the two candles. Finally, Jane walked over to the dresser lamp and switched it off, so that the only light in the room was from the two small flames. He then returned to her side and they continued to dance in the midnight glow.

Finally, Jane spoke. "Do you know what I was watching before you knocked on my door tonight?"

Lisbon seriously had no idea so she shook her head.

"The Weather Channel."

Lisbon blushed, busted. Thankfully it was dark in the room, so Jane couldn't see her turn a lovely crimson shade.

"What I mean to say, Lisbon, is thank you."

Lisbon looked up to gaze at Jane's now dark ocean irises. She chewed on her bottom lip again and nodded, before returning her head to rest on his shoulder.

"You were right you know." Lisbon said out of the blue.

"Hmm." Jane chortled. "I usually am, my dear but what particular moment of rightness are we talking about?"

"Christmas should be spent with family." Lisbon said simply.

Jane didn't have a sarcastic reply. He simply held the amazing woman in his arms a little tighter because he couldn't agree more.

The End

Merry Christmas Everyone!


End file.
